


Not Letting Go

by mrsO_jackson



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, F/M, Tartarus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:00:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24987190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsO_jackson/pseuds/mrsO_jackson
Summary: Whilst they're falling into Tartarus, Annabeth recalls the day that Percy went missing.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	Not Letting Go

She remembered the day like it was yesterday.

The morning had started off like any other - she'd woke up in a cold sweat from some ominous dream, tidied up her bunk and got ready for the day. Ominous dreams weren't unusual for her. In fact, she'd be more concerned if she wasn't awoken by some grisly, graphic nightmare. But this time, something had felt wrong; Annabeth hated Hera, but she knew her voice well enough to know that she had been the one calling to her. It hadn't looked like her at all. She was hunched over and withering, stark in contrast to the annoyingly beautiful form of a 30-something-year-old woman she favoured.  
The voice had calmly said: "This is only the beginning, Child of Athena. You have many trials to face; do not lose faith now. I promise, all the sacrifices will be worth it in the end."

Annabeth wanted to scream. They had literally just defeated Kronos and now her dearly hated godly step-grandma was asking more favours of her. Because, why not? The last part troubled her the most though - she'd made enough sacrifices to last her a lifetime. She still couldn't say Luke's name without a hitch in her breath and a tear in her eye. Only two good things had come out of the war: her Olympus architecture commission, and Percy. 

Gods, Percy. She hated how weak he made her feel, but she couldn't help it. Their relationship had been a long time coming - everybody knew that - but her heart still threatened to burst out of her ribs when he'd kissed her after the war. Sure, it wasn't their first, but the one before was more of a 'Good luck and don't die' kiss than an 'I love you' kiss. And there was no doubt about it, she loved him so much it hurt. Curse Aphrodite. 

The dream had left her shaken, but she pushed her fears to the back of her mind. She would speak to Chiron about it later. 

She walked to the Mess Hall with Malcolm. Not many campers stayed year-round, so she was grateful for his company. Percy had decided to forgo the safety of the camp for Manhattan with his mum and stepdad, but he was coming to visit her tomorrow and she couldn't contain her excitement. They had Iris-Messaged basically every evening and even Chiron turned a blind eye when she missed dinner to talk to him. Yet, she yearned to hold him in her arms and kiss him and walk along the beach alongside him. 

Taking her seat at the Athena table, she couldn't help but sigh with anticipation. Only a day and she'd have him next to her for the first time in months. She decided to thrust herself into the day's activities in order to relax her mind; she had cabin inspection and then she was teaching swordplay and hand-to-hand combat for most of the day. She decided to speak to Chiron during cabin inspection - Cabin 6 was always tidy anyway. So after cleaning up her plate, she headed off towards the Big House. She'd seen Chiron slink off towards the end of breakfast, and she suspected he had something on his mind that she wanted to hear about too.

As she guessed, he was trotting nervously up and down the main room of the Big House. When she swung the door open, he flicked his head back as if to object to her presence. When he saw it was justt her though, his face relaxed. 

"Annabeth?" he inquired. 

"Do you have a second?" 

"Yes, of course. Take a seat."

Annabeth told him about her dream; Hera's warning and the withering old woman. His face paled.

"You're sure it was Hera?" He asked, resuming his previous pacing.

"Yeah, I think so. But what did she mean, this is only the beginning? We only just won. We won!"

"This is too soon," Chiron mumbled. He cleared his throat. "I fear I know what she talks of. But I cannot tell you till I know more. You must trust me, it would be dangerous otherwise."

Annabeth just nodded. She trusted him with her whole heart. "But why now? And why does she look so... old?"

He just shook his head. "Go back to camp. You have much to do today." 

"Chiron-" 

"Please, my child."

Resigned, Annabeth bowed her head and walked out. Will Solace was walking past outside and grinned upon seeing her. 

"Arena?" he asked. 

"Yup," she said, forcing a smile. They walked off together, but she couldn't shake her uneasiness. 

Several hours later, she found herself back in her cabin for the evening. It was 4 and several campers were still in the midst of training, but the winter meant that the skies were already dim. She preferred to get back in before dark to work on her sketches for Olympus; most recently, Apollo's temple. Plus, she had to call Percy - something she'd been waiting to do all day. Once she'd changed out of her sweaty clothes and made her way to the bathroom, she fished a drachma out of her pocket and threw it into the sink. Percy was always waiting for her, or at least lying on his bed when the transmission went through. This time, though, something felt off. The drachma rippled for several seconds before a voice boomed from nowhere in particular. 

"Message blocked. Rerouting..."

Annabeth's eyes furrowed immediately. She didn't have much time to ponder the predicament though, because a fuzzy image appeared through the mirror. Almost immediately, she recognised it as Percy's kitchen. However, he wasn't there. Instead, Sally Jackson stood with her head in her hands. Paul Blofis had an arm around her and she sobbed into his shoulder. She felt like an intruder, but she immediately knew something was wrong. 

"Sally!" she called out. Paul's head shot up first, noticing Annabeth. His eyes widened in disbelief, but he shook Sally and pointed at the floating image. She gasped. 

"Annabeth! Percy's gone. Percy's-" Her voice cracked, but she hardened her face and wiped her tears. "Is he with you, dear?"

Annabeth felt sick. "He's not coming till tomorrow. What do you mean he's gone?"

"He's gone! We woke up this morning and he wasn't here. He's not anywhere. We've searched most of Manhattan. I tried to get in contact with you, but I didn't have any drachmas and we don't have any number for you. I know he's all grown-up, I know he can handle himself yet... call it mother's intuition, but something isn't right."

"Listen, Sally. I don't know what's happening, but something's wrong, you're right. I feel it too. I can swear to you though, that I will find him. Safe and alive, no matter what trouble he's got himself into." Annabeth said, praying she sounded more sure than she felt.

Paul smiled appreciatively at her. "This boy is seriously the coolest kid I've ever met. If anyone could go missing and turn up without a scratch, it's him."

"You're right," Sally sniffled. "Thank you, Annabeth. If you find anything, please let me know. And you're welcome here anytime -"

The scene began to shimmer and fade. Annabeth felt her knees weaken as the image did, and she found herself holding onto the sink for balance. She knew she had to tell Chiron but for now, she could only just make it to the bunk. Her feet staggered and hot, silent tears fell down her face. 

The dreadful scream that she produced that evening attracted the attention of Chiron and Clarisse, but she wouldn't let them touch her. 

"She took him. She took him. That little bi-" 

Chiron touched Annabeth's shoulder gently. "My child, you must tell us what has happened or we cannot help."

The look on his face told her that he already suspected what she was about to say.

"Percy is gone," she spat. "He's gone, and there's going to be sacrifices and death and Hera's involved and the Gods are ruining our lives again."

Clarisse shoved past the crowd and yanked Annabeth up by both her arms. 

"You are the most determined person I know, Chase, and that puny boyfriend of yours is pretty strong too - don't tell him I said that. Are you going to sit there crying, or are you can come and get some dinner? Cos we're leaving bright and early tomorrow to start searching," she said. Her words were harsh, but there was no edge in her voice - Annabeth recognised this gratefully. She closed her eyes and shook out her hands. 

"I'm coming."

\---

Annabeth remembered the day whilst she fell. 9 days was a long time, but then again, it could've been nine seconds, minutes or years in the mortal world. She held onto Percy like he was her oxygen, and he did the same. For some reason, it wasn't difficult to stay together - it was as though Tartarus had created a vacuum in which only they existed. Still, that was wishful thinking. The insanely loud wind whistling around their ears was a harsh reminder that they were on their way to the deepest, darkest place of the underworld. The sound almost drowned out her thoughts, but the persistent blacking out brought bouts of refuge. 

She had him snatched away from her once, and the universe had tried really, really dam hard to do it again. Percy could've let go of her and pulled himself up - she wouldn't have been mad, in the unlikely event she survived. He'd made a choice though; a choice that no life was better than life again without Annabeth. It made her love the stupid Seaweed Brain even more.

As they fell, Annabeth wrapped her legs around him. She didn't know what was awaiting them at the bottom, or if they'd even survive the fall, but she had Percy with her now. She was never letting him go again.


End file.
